Wrestling | Lake Forest's Durbin gets call from Northwestern

Phil English

Regis Durbin’s life changed dramatically the week of Feb. 22. Since then, it’s only gotten better.

Durbin became Lake Forest’s first individual wrestling champion when he pulled off an improbable 3-2 ultimate tie-breaker victory over previously unbeaten Tyler Johnson of Lockport to capture the 195-pound championship.

From that moment on, Durbin, who only considered himself a part-time wrestler, went from a likely Division III quarterback or safety college football prospect to a legitimate Division I wrestler.

“It was all pretty shocking, especially considering how competitive that weight class was,” Durbin said. “Winning it really helped open a lot of eyes. Actually, wrestling didn’t even come into the picture until the state title. I wanted to play football. Then all the offers started coming in.

“It was like a tidal wave after the tournament. I got a lot of calls within that first week. From all the Big Ten coaches that are so well-known. To have them call was just crazy.”

Durbin accepted an offer earlier this month to wrestle for the Wildcats this fall and will be a part of one of the nation’s top recruiting classes that also includes Mount Carmel’s Bryce Brill and two other wrestlers ranked No. 1 in their weight classes. Durbin’s father, Regis Sr., wrestled at Northwestern. Durbin’s mother, Diane, is also an NU alum.

“We feel very fortunate that Regis chose to attend Northwestern,” said Wildcats coach Drew Pariano, whose teams have had Top 10 finishes in two of the last three NCAA championships. “We look forward to helping him reach all of his athletic and academic goals. We’ve had a good amount of success at the NCAAs in recent years and we believe that Regis will be a vital contributor to the future of our program.”

It all started with an unlikely senior season that saw Durbin go undefeated (41-0) and eventually stand atop the podium at the University of Illinois’ State Farm Center that last weekend of February.

“It’s just pretty crazy how one weekend can change your life like that,” Durbin said. “And that weekend did. It was a life changer. I really like the Northwestern coaches and I’m really grateful to them.”